The Wall Art for a Home Gym That Earned Its 2,768 Steps
There is a certain kind of person who finishes the Manitou Incline, sits on the bench at the top with their heart going like a drum solo, and thinks, “I never want to do that again,” followed about ten minutes later by, “when can I do that again.” If that is you, or if it is someone you love, this is the wall art for a home gym that finally gives all those steps somewhere to live. The Manitou Incline Walnut-Stained Wall Art from Colorado Ski Chairs is a walnut-stained, kiln-dried wood piece built to hang the memory of all 2,768 steps on your wall, and it is made right here in Manitou Springs, at the foot of the real thing.
The Incline Is a Rite of Passage, and This Is the Trophy
Most people in Colorado have a Manitou Incline story, and none of them are boring. Somebody’s uncle did it in ski boots on a dare. Somebody’s coworker trains for it all summer and still stops at the false summit to reconsider their life choices. Somebody did it once, in college, and has been dining out on that fact for fifteen years. It is one of those rare landmarks that everyone experiences a little differently and remembers exactly the same way, which is to say, out of breath and weirdly proud.
That is what makes this piece work as decor. It is not a generic mountain silhouette you could buy anywhere with a lodge and a gift shop. It is the Incline specifically, the old cable car grade turned staircase, 2,768 railroad ties climbing straight up the side of Rocky Mountain. When you hang it, you are not decorating. You are quietly telling everyone who walks in that you have a relationship with that hill, and the hill knows your name. The piece does the bragging so you do not have to, which, if we are honest, is the most tasteful way to brag there is.
Colorado Ski Chairs is based at the bottom of that climb, in Manitou Springs, so this is not a company in another state guessing at what the Incline means. It is a shop that watches people stagger back to their cars in the parking lot every single weekend. When they made a Manitou Incline piece, they made it for the locals and the visitors who actually did the thing, and it shows in the details.
What It Is, and How It Is Made
Let’s talk about the actual object, because the craft is the whole point. This is wall art cut from kiln-dried Thermory wood, then finished in a deep walnut stain. Thermory is thermally modified wood, which is a fancy way of saying it has been heat-treated so it shrugs off moisture and temperature swings instead of warping and cracking the first time the weather turns. That matters in Colorado, where a sunny afternoon and a snow squall can happen in the same lunch break.
The Manitou Incline design is precision cut into the wood, the long ladder of steps marching up toward the summit with the mountain shape around it. The walnut stain brings out the grain, so no two pieces read exactly alike. The wood was a tree once, and it still looks like it, which is the whole appeal. Each sign is cut, stained, and sealed for the long haul, indoors or out. Hang it on a covered patio, a garage wall, a mudroom, a cabin, wherever, and it will hold up.
A quick, honest note, because Colorado Ski Chairs is best known for furniture built from real retired skis and snowboards. This piece is not one of those. It is not made from old skis, and it is not a chair, so the usual “it takes four or five pairs of skis to build one chair” math does not apply here. This is carved and stained wood art, plain and simple. We mention it because people who know the brand sometimes assume everything comes off a pair of K2s, and honesty about what a thing actually is beats a good story every time.
Why the Manitou Incline Earns a Spot on the Wall
For the uninitiated, here is the short version of what those 2,768 steps mean. The Incline gains roughly 2,000 feet of elevation in under a mile, with grades that hit somewhere around 68 percent near the top. It started life as the track bed for a funicular railway that hauled materials up the mountain. When the rail line was pulled, the ties stayed, and over the years the climb became one of the most punishing and beloved workouts in the state. People fly in to do it. People move here and make it a Saturday ritual. People turn 60 and knock it out just to prove the number is a suggestion.
So when you put the Incline on your wall, you are hanging a story with real weight. It is not a mass-produced “live laugh climb” sign. It is a specific, hard-won piece of Colorado that a lot of people have earned with their own lungs. That is exactly the kind of thing that makes good wall art, the sort a guest actually asks about instead of politely ignoring on their way to the snacks.
And here is the quiet truth about motivation. A goal you can see is a goal you keep. Hang the Incline where you sweat, and on the mornings you would rather hit snooze, that little ladder of steps is right there reminding you what you are capable of. It is a lot cheaper than a personal trainer and it never once tells you to give it five more.
The Wall Art for a Home Gym, and the Pain Cave It Deserves
Here is where this piece really finds its people. If you have carved out a corner of the garage or the basement for a squat rack, a rower, and a speaker that plays music no one else in the house appreciates, you have a pain cave. And a pain cave needs the right wall art for a home gym, something that fits the room’s whole reason for existing.
Most gym wall decor is either corporate motivational nonsense or a poster of an athlete you will never look like. The Manitou Incline piece is neither. It is a real climb, a real number, and a real place, hanging on real wood. It says something honest about why you are down here at 5:45 in the morning. When you are staring at the ceiling between sets, wondering if you have another one in you, the answer is right there on the wall in walnut stain. You climbed 2,768 steps once. You have got one more rep.
It is the kind of wall art for a home gym that earns respect from anyone who trains, and quietly baffles anyone who does not, which is honestly a nice filter to have on your friend group. It pairs well with a chalk bowl, a wall clock, and the smell of determination. Whether your setup is a full garage build-out or a rower and some dumbbells in the spare room, this piece grounds it in something specific instead of generic gym-poster energy.
Manitou Incline Walnut-Stained Wall Art
Where Else It Belongs, Besides the Squat Rack
A home gym is the obvious fit, but this piece travels well. In a mountain cabin, it slots right in with the rest of the Colorado story, especially if the cabin is anywhere near the Front Range. Over a home bar, it starts conversations, because half your guests have either done the Incline or have strong opinions about people who do. In an entryway or mudroom, it greets everyone with a little local pride before they even get their boots off.
It also works in an office, and not in a stuffy way. A lot of Colorado businesses want their space to feel like it belongs here instead of like a beige box that could be in any city. A carved Manitou Incline piece on the wall of a lobby, a break room, or a conference room does that instantly. It signals that the people who work there know the mountains, live the life, and did not order their decor from a catalog three time zones away.
Because it is sealed for outdoor use, you are not limited to indoor walls either. A covered patio, a porch, a she-shed or a backyard bar setup can all carry it. The walnut stain and the wood grain look right at home outside, next to string lights and a fire pit, which around here is prime real estate from about May through October and honestly a fair bit of the winter too.
Choosing Your Size
The Manitou Incline wall art comes in three sizes, starting at $129 with free shipping. The smallest works beautifully as an accent, the kind of piece you tuck next to a door, over a light switch cluster, or in a gallery wall mixed with photos and other mountain art. The middle size is the everyday workhorse, big enough to anchor a stretch of wall above a bench or a bar without taking over the room. The largest is the statement piece, the one that becomes the first thing you see when you walk into the gym or the cabin.
If you are not sure which size fits, think about the wall from across the room, not up close. Wall art almost always wants to be a touch bigger than your instinct says, especially on a tall or wide wall. When in doubt, Colorado Ski Chairs is happy to talk it through. That is the upside of buying from a small shop instead of a giant retailer. There is an actual person on the other end who has hung a hundred of these and knows what reads well.
Everything ships free, and because these are cut and finished in Manitou Springs, you are getting a genuinely local product, not something drop-shipped from a warehouse with a Colorado sticker slapped on the box.
The Send-Off Gift for Someone Who Earned It
Here is an angle worth sitting with, especially if you are shopping for a milestone. When someone retires, or wraps up a long chapter, the standard gift is a plaque, a watch, or a gift card that says the committee ran out of ideas. None of those last. A plaque goes in a drawer. The watch gets worn twice. The gift card buys a sandwich.
Now picture the person who spent years in Colorado, maybe crushed the Incline on lunch breaks, maybe just loved living at the foot of it, and is now retiring or moving on to the next thing. A carved Manitou Incline piece is a send-off they will actually hang, in the new house, in the new gym, in the new life. Every time they look at it, it takes them right back to the years and the mountain they are leaving behind. That is what a good retirement gift is supposed to do, and a $129 piece of walnut-stained wood does it better than most things three times the price.
The same logic works for a coworker relocating out of state, a friend who finally hit a fitness goal they chased for years, or the person on your team who is closing out a decade of service. Give them the climb, not the plaque. One of them ends up on a wall. The other ends up in a box in the garage, and you both know it.
Customization, and an Honest Word About Logos
The standard Manitou Incline piece is the carved-and-stained design you see in the photos, and for most people that is exactly right. But Colorado Ski Chairs does custom work, so if you have something specific in mind, a size that is not on the list, a different stain, a personal detail, it is worth a phone call to 303.775.7273 to ask.
Now, the honest part, because a lot of businesses ask about putting a company logo on a piece like this. The carved landmark design is one thing. A company logo is another, and here is the rule the shop holds to. A logo is never carved freehand or hand painted, because freehand work will not hold your brand’s exact shape and color, and a logo that is a little bit off is worse than no logo at all. Instead, a logo goes on as a clean logo decal floated onto the piece, with aluminum or plastic appliques as alternatives, each priced a little differently, so the mark stays crisp and exact. The Manitou Incline itself, being a public landmark and not anyone’s trademark, is carved right into the wood. Your brand mark gets the applique treatment so it looks like you meant it.
Branded and bulk pricing is quoted on a call rather than listed online, because it depends on quantity, size, and how you want the logo applied. If you are outfitting an office, a gym, a set of Airbnb properties, or ordering a batch for a team, that is exactly the kind of thing to call and talk through. The number, again, is 303.775.7273, and it is the only number that reaches the shop.
Why Buy From Colorado Ski Chairs
There are cheaper mass-produced signs out there, and if all you want is the word “mountains” in a trendy font, go get one. But if you want the Manitou Incline done right, by a shop that sits at the base of it, cut from durable wood and finished by hand, this is where you get it. Colorado Ski Chairs has built its whole reputation on turning Colorado’s mountain life into furniture and decor you can actually use, from ski chairs and snowboard benches to wall art like this. The Incline piece is a small part of that catalog, but it carries the same standard.
You are also buying from people, not an algorithm. Have a question about size, stain, timing, or a custom idea? Call and a human answers. That is increasingly rare, and it is worth something when you are spending real money on something that is going to hang in your home for years. This piece belongs in the same family as the shop’s wall art and the rest of its indoor decor and furniture, all built on the same idea, that the mountains you love should show up in the place you live.
How Ordering Works
Ordering is refreshingly simple. Pick your size on the product page, starting at $129, and shipping is free. Because these are made in Manitou Springs, you are getting a locally produced piece rather than a warehouse product. If you want something custom, a special size, a different finish, a logo applied for a business, or a bulk order, call 303.775.7273 before you order so the shop can set it up right and quote it properly.
Then hang it somewhere it will do its job. Over the rack, above the bar, in the cabin, by the door. Somewhere you will see it on the days you need a reminder that hard things are worth doing, and that you have already done a few of them.
Care and Durability, Season After Season
One of the best things about this piece is how little it asks of you. The kiln-dried Thermory wood was heat-treated specifically so it stays stable through heat, cold, and humidity, which means you are not babying it the way you would a cheap pine sign that swells and splits the first winter. The walnut stain and the seal do the protecting, and the wood does the rest.
If you hang it indoors, it will basically look after itself. A dry cloth now and then to knock the dust off the carved steps is all it wants. Outdoors, on a covered patio or porch, it holds up to the seasons just fine, though like any wood piece it will last longest if it is not sitting in direct rain or blazing sun all day every day. Give it a spot with a little shelter, and it will look sharp for years. Colorado gets all four seasons in a good week, and this piece was built by people who know that firsthand, so it is made to take it.
Over time the wood may mellow slightly, the way good wood does, and honestly that only makes it look better. It is not a plastic novelty that yellows and cracks. It is real wood that ages like real wood, picking up a little character while the carved Incline stays crisp and readable. Buy it once, hang it, and it becomes part of the room instead of something you replace.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Manitou Incline wall art made from?
It is made from kiln-dried Thermory wood, a thermally modified wood chosen for outdoor durability, finished in a deep walnut stain and precision cut with the Incline’s 2,768 steps. It is not made from old skis and it is not a chair, so it is carved and stained wood art rather than repurposed ski furniture.
Can this wall art really go outside?
Yes. Each piece is cut, stained, and sealed for long-term outdoor use, so it holds up on a covered patio, porch, or backyard bar as well as it does indoors. Colorado weather is exactly what the Thermory wood is built for.
What sizes and price does it come in?
It comes in three sizes starting at $129 with free shipping. The small size works as an accent, the medium anchors a wall, and the large is the statement piece. If you are unsure which fits your wall, call 303.775.7273 and the shop will help you choose.
Can I get my company logo on it?
The Manitou Incline landmark is carved right into the wood, but a company logo is never carved or hand painted freehand. A logo goes on as a clean decal, with aluminum or plastic appliques as alternatives, so your brand holds its exact shape and color. Branded and bulk pricing is quoted on a call at 303.775.7273.
Bring the Climb Home
You did the steps, or you know someone who did, or you just love the mountain that everyone in this state has an opinion about. Either way, the Manitou Incline deserves better than a phone photo you never look at. Make it the wall art for a home gym, the cabin, the office, or the send-off gift, hung on real walnut-stained wood by the shop that lives at the bottom of the hill. Pick your size, or call 303.775.7273 for something custom. The climb was the hard part. Hanging it is easy.
